Together
by HowlingDarkness95
Summary: The Avengers had always been a team, even when one of their own commits a mistake that could very well end their existence. They stick together because they were a family, because they belonged to each other. WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR AoU.


**Hello all! Yes, I'm aware that I'm supposed to be writing For We Once So Loved The World, but ever since I came out of the theatre, this plot bunny has been bugging me like crazy. And trust me, it doesn't help when you're supposed to be studying for finals. -.-**

 **Anyway, in case you missed it out front, here's another warning, THIS STORY CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR AOU, DO NOT READ IF YOU DISLIKE SPOILERS.**

 **There, I said it. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this one-shot while I continue writing my main story**

 **! :)**

 **Disclaimers: Phase 2 has ended and nope, still don't own Marvel or PJO. :(**

* * *

They were exhausted.

None of them had had a good night's sleep ever since Ultron had broken into the living room that fateful night. Even spending the night at Clint's safe house hadn't allowed them to get the rest that they needed. All of the avengers were high strung with tension, each of them deeply rattled by the fears which they had been shown. They each saw the shadows that lurked in their eyes, but none of them confronted one another about it. Choosing to turn from their friends and try to accept their own fears. They had faced numerous enemies before, but this was different, this was their deepest fear – a scab which was torn out to expose the ugly wound beneath it. Thor still shuddered from the visions which he saw, squashing down any feeling of guilt he had at abandoning his friends to search for his own answers.

Steve saw Peggy every time he closed his eyes, regret heavy in his heart as his memory supplied him with the visage of a headstrong woman who now lay in a home, her black hair turned white with time and her beautiful face heavy with lines. He feared the moment of her death, something which he knew was bound to happen sooner or later. She barely remembered him on a good day, and on bad days, her lack of recognition was akin to bullets in his heart. But those were fears for a later date, and faced against the prospect of yet another megalomaniac, Steve allowed Captain America to take the reins and save the world.

Bruce and Natasha were both haunted by their fears, but the former had already seen his fears come to life many times over, and even though it sickened him to the core, he was able to push the fears away and let his anger take over. Natasha was practiced in her masking of emotions, so with a shake of her head at Clint's concerned look, she shut down all memories of the Red Room.

Clint looked around at his team out of the corner of his eye, his own weapon – a bow and arrow for God's sake- aimed at Ultron, who was levitating in front of them in smug demeanor so similar to one God of Mischief. The archer didn't say anything, but he saw the darkness in his team mates' eyes, saw the shaken look in Nat's – his unflappable best friend – the horror in Thor's face when he awoke from whatever vision he had, and the defeat in Banner's eyes when they retrieved him from the rubble of the city. Most of all, Clint – and he would deny this till the end of the world – was most worried about Tony. The genius had the same dark look in his eyes, but apart from that, Clint could get nothing.

And that scared him the most.

Tony was the emotional one on the team, the one who wore his heart on his sleeve and never failed to show exactly how he felt about someone. But ever since Ultron had disrupted their personal gathering – and it was such a fun night too – Tony had changed. He wasn't remorseful about the whole creating-a-murderbot thing – but it wasn't as though Clint expected him to be – it was just that, Tony Stark was not known for his lack of expression, rather, he was known for the exact opposite. So for Clint to see Tony being so indifferent made the archer's worry for the team as a whole double.

He knew that they were all screwed up in the head somehow, but one thing for sure was that they were a team – even the two new enhanced teens that had been their enemy once and crossed over to their side when certain truths came to light – and a team stuck together. They would win together or lose together. With that thought, Clint pressed his lips together and faced the eight feet tall robot, vowing to make his team mates sit down and talk about what they saw, maybe even drag the girl who did it to them in the first place. After all, he knew what it was like to have his head messed up by somebody else.

Admitting only to himself, Tony was finally seeing what Steve meant back at his tower – their tower. Within the metal suit that covered his entire body, he closed his eyes regretfully for a moment. Staring into Ultron's smug metallic features, into those blood red eyes which possessed far more intelligence and no shred of humanity, sent cold chills down his spine in ways that the Ten Rings had never done. Deep in his heart, Tony admitted to himself that he had made a mistake. One which had cost them so much – nearly cost him his team, and damn if that didn't make him want to breakdown because he'd seen their corpses, flung over one another, broken in ways that he couldn't repair and knowing that it was _all his fault_. It was _he_ created Ultron, _he_ who made this murderbot, _he_ who caused the death of so many people, and _he_ who let his team down. He let out a shuddering breath that went unheard by the rest. He glanced at his team – his friends, who stood beside him, fighting for what was right, willing to die for it even, and felt his resolve strengthen. He heard Steve's response to Ultron and added in his own comment, "Together." He said firmly, staring straight into Ultron's soulless orbs.

Ultron just tilted his head, data streaming through his head as he let his gaze flit across the eight humans standing before him. He chuckled, a deep, condescending laugh at their response. He swept a silver arm up, gesturing to the hundreds of robots which were lined up behind him, on the ground and in the air. He cocked his head to one side, amusement coloring his voice as he said, "Nine of you, against hundreds of me. And you hope to win?"

A laugh echoed around the deserted courtyard, the derelict church adding to the creepiness of the echoed sound.

"Nine? How about we add two more to that number?" A voice said.

The avengers – the original six – looked around in shock as a black clad teenager dropped in front of Thor, two swords in an 'X' shape on his back. The newcomer had midnight black hair which was swept messily across his forehead, black colored vambraces on his forearms while his hands were covered in fingerless gloves. The lithe form wore a skin tight suit which did nothing but compliment the person's muscular stature, accentuated by the shin-high combat boots that adorned the figure's legs. The six avengers knew that if the newcomer were to turn around, they would see oceanic green orbs which swirled with power.

"Besides," a new voice drawled, causing the avengers to whip their heads around again, eyeing the figure who was now crouched on top of the vibranium key, "It was six against thousands the last time round, and they made it through, I'd say the odds are better this time."

Thor's electric blue eyes widened, "Brother." He breathed, not daring to let the hope in him surge.

Loki glanced at him for a moment before switching his focus back on Ultron. Wanda and Pietro exchanged subtle looks of confusion at the two new arrivals while the rest of the avengers felt their weariness lift a little. Percy grinned up at the floating robot, "So you see, you really shouldn't gloat just cause we're outnumbered. Outnumbered doesn't mean guaranteed defeat you know, at least not on human terms."

Ultron's red eyes swiveled to Percy for a moment before turning back to Loki, dismissing the boy with nary a thought, making him scowl. "You were leading the invasion to earth." He stated.

The God smirked and nodded, still crouched on the key, keeping an eye on the teen who was now scowling heavily.

The robot narrowed his eyes, "And yet you choose to fight with the people who you fought against?"

Before Loki could answer, a loud "Hey!" interrupted them, bringing Ultron's attention back to the raven haired teen he had dismissed earlier. The silver bot narrowed his eyes at the adolescent, running through all data channels in search of information on him.

Percy sneered, clenching his fist as he drew out a silver rod from a sheath on his back, hidden by his sword's scabbard, "Don't bother looking up on me, you won't find anything."

Ultron narrowed his eyes as his search came back inconclusive, "Who are you?"

Percy grinned savagely, giving a mockery of a bow, "Percy Jackson, at your service. Now, don't you know that it's rude to ignore people when they're talking?"

Ultron snarled, clenching a metallic fist, "I do not care for your petty human games, the avengers will perish here and now –"

Percy interrupted him, pointing the silver rod at him, "See that's what I mean, didn't your programming tell you that interrupting people is rude too? Because if not, let me tell you this, _I do not tolerate people who think themselves above others_." The demigod snarled. In a fluid movement, he jerked his wrist, the rod elongating and two prongs slid out of the main body of the rod, and fired a blast of blue energy at Ultron.

The blast connected perfectly with the robot and sent him flying into the building opposite the church, concrete and debris crumbling to the ground. The whole yard was silent for several seconds, none of the avengers nor the robots moving an inch save to stare incredulously at Percy. The same Percy, who was now holding a full length trident, still pointed at where Ultron was several moments ago. Loki grinned proudly and leapt off the key just as the swarm of robots came to life and charged at them.

Pietro darted around the robots, too fast for their system to catch, slamming into them and ripping them apart with the sheer force which he collided into them. He skidded around the whole church, taking out as many robots as he could whilst keeping an eye out for his sister. Wanda was terrifyingly powerful, able to crush the robots with barely a thought in her mind, but she – and him by extension – were new to this. They were just twins who had come out of an experiment with extra abilities, they weren't fighters. And whether or not the avengers had powers – they had been trained to do this. Pietro swallowed nervously as he hid behind a pillar, intending to take a small breather before jumping back into the fray. He had never used his abilities to such an extent before, at most, he only got out quick bursts of speed but never had he run for extended periods of time. His eyes snapped open at the sound of metallic shifting and he twisted, his muscles tensed to move but before he could, a cold, steel body slammed into his.

It was all Pietro could do not to cry out as he hit the ground harshly, blindly lashing out to keep the robot at bay. The silver bot grabbed his head and slammed it into the ground, making him dazed for a moment. In those precious seconds, the bot cocked a hand back, its palm glowing ominously. The speedster's eyes widened as he struggled, trying to bring up a hand to block, as his mind screamed for him to _movemovemovemovemovemo –_

A silver blade swept across the body of the robot, effortlessly separating its head from its body. Pietro glanced up, wide eyed at his savior as the other half of the robot dropped onto him, the wires still sparking. The black clad teen from before – the same one who had shot Ultron in the face – stood above him, extending a hand for the speedster to take. Pietro cautiously did so, surprised at the strong grip with which the boy gripped his arm as he heaved him up. "Don't separate from the others." The boy – Percy – grinned, "There're too many of these damn robots around to fight alone, they'll swarm you the moment you let your guard down."

Pietro must have taken a harder hit to the head than he realized because he jerked backwards instinctively when he saw another bot creeping up behind the boy – Percy – and he opened his mouth to call out a warning. Before any sound could escape his vocal chords though, Percy whirled around and slammed the trident into the robot's chest plate, twisting it viciously before pulling it out and twirling the weapon, slicing the bot into half with the _other_ sharpened end of the trident.

Percy turned to give Pietro a smile and a pat on the shoulder before diving into another swarm of bots. The white haired runner could only stare in amazement at his savior, muttering a quick "Thanks" to the wind before he disappeared around the corner, heading into the heart of the swarm where the avengers were, determination filling him.

Wanda let her instincts take over her actions the moment she heard Ultron roar in rage, his robots charging at them. She flung her power out, careful not to hit any of her new allies as she crushed the robots with a thought. The cacophony of battle was overwhelming, but she pushed her feelings of fear aside, calling to mind the words that Hawkeye had said to her when they were both hiding out in the house. She started in shock when she threw one robot into another, only to have a third take its place immediately. Wanda threw up a hasty shield to block the blow but a blur of red and gold swooped past her and demolished the robot with a single blast.

Wanda stared wide eyed at Tony Stark as he flew off, circling around them and firing his repulsors at any robot he came across. She turned her eyes away from the inventor, her mind warring with the hero who saved the world and the name of the shell which she had locked eyes with for two whole days, waiting for it to blow. She cast her eyes around, ducking under energy blasts and returning her own in the process.

The Avengers worked like a well-oiled machine, covering each other's backs and reinforcing each other's attacks. She saw Black Widow take out a robot behind Captain America, who threw his shield in Thor's path, the god batting it away to take out a dozen robots at one shot before returning to the Captain's hand. Iron Man fired his repulsors into the swarm, Hawkeye picking off the stragglers one by one. Even the two new additions fit in with the rest of the heroes, the one with the trident taking down the robots who attempted to take out the Widow, unafraid of the Hulk who was roaring loudly behind him, smashing the bots into tiny metallic scraps. The other person was like a shadow, slipping between the robots like water, leaving a trail of dismembered robots behind him. Wanda watched as her brother ran in streaks around them all, slamming into robots and shattering them into pieces with his body, much like what she did with her mind. She looked at all the Avengers, and wondered how she ever thought they she could break them from the inside out, when the only feelings she could sense from all of them were fierce protectiveness.

Thor threw Mjolnir as far as he could, the silver hammer smashing through several rows of robots, the god himself whirling around and punching the ones who thought they could sneak up behind him. A soft crunch of boots on gravel alerted him to a presence behind him, and Thor ducked just in time for a dagger to slice through the air where his head had been and sank blade first into a metallic face. The thunder god recalled Mjolnir back to his hand and swung his hammer up, smashing the head of a robot which was creeping up next to the figure who threw the dagger.

The blond warrior turned and scowled at the figure, "Was that necessary? You could have taken my head off."

Loki, who stepped up beside him and continued to fight, merely grinned, shrugging off his brother's scowl, "Do have more faith in me brother, my aim is true."

Thor sighed, "And if I had not ducked in time?"

Loki shrugged, cutting off the arm of a robot and gutting it, "Then Odin would need a new heir."

Thor growled, spinning his hammer as he leapt up, lightning crackling around the weapon as he roared his fury, bringing Mjolnir down on the swarm, the electricity frying a load of them. Behind him, Thor heard Loki take down a dozen bots as well, and he grinned, letting the battle lust consume him. With Loki by his side, the two gods whirled into battle, a literal storm around them as they dispatched robot after robot after robot.

On the other side of the battlefield – which had expanded beyond the church – Steve was fighting with his own hoard of robots alongside Pietro, who had quickly come to his aid when one of the robots tried to get the jump on him. Steve rammed his shield into one of the robots, pushing it into Pietro's path as the boy zipped around, shredding the bots as he did so. The tri-colored captain called out a warning before throwing his shield, the speedster taking care to duck under the sharp edge as it sliced into the enemy. Steve nodded at Pietro in thanks as the teen caused a domino effect in the robots, knocking them over like bowling pins. The white-haired teen smirked back, then hastily stepped out of the way of the green rage monster who roared and crushed the robots into scrap under his feet, his eyes growing wide at the sight of Black Widow on the Hulk's shoulders, the assassin vaulting off of him and onto a bot, her momentum bringing it down as she twisted its head off with her legs, her hands firing bolts of electricity simultaneously around her.

"Nat's the only one of all of us that can actually work that harmoniously with the Hulk." Steve said, rolling to a stand behind Pietro. The speedster took out a few more bots then leveled a confused look at the leader of the Avengers.

"Only one close to their level of harmony is Tony – Iron Man I mean – and that's only because Iron Man isn't afraid of the Hulk. Or rather he was the first to not be afraid of him." Steve said, his breaths coming out in harsh pants.

Pietro kept his face blank, though his mind was swirling with thoughts – mostly about one Tony Stark. He turned to look for his sister, his heart thumping wildly in his chest as he realized that she had slipped his mind. His worry was put at ease as he saw Wanda backed by the archer and the boy who had saved his life earlier. Pietro looked around, realizing that the number of robots around them had dwindled to a few dozen stragglers. Steve, who had come to the same conclusion at the same time. The Captain put a hand to his ear, activating his comm. Unit, "Avengers, regroup at the key in five, make sure none of the bots get near the key."

"Tall order Cap," Tony voiced up, his voice slightly distorted by his suit, "These things are like little bugs who keep popping up no matter how many times you stomp on them."

"Perhaps it is your lack of skill which allows them to return to their feet Stark." Loki's voice cut in, prompting Steve to sigh.

"And how, exactly, did you get a comm unit Loki?"

They could all hear the god's smirk as he replied, "A magician never reveals his secret."

Steve just sighed again.

Soon enough, the avengers, Percy and Loki all found themselves back at the vibranium key, minus Ultron and his robots. They all looked at each other, hope surging within their veins even as they breathed heavily, catching their breath while adrenaline still ran through their veins.

"Alright," Steve began, raking a hand through his dirty blond hair, "The goal is to eradicate any remaining robot and to get any stragglers on board the ship to the Helicarrier. Primary goal is getting all survivors out of this city. Tony, do you have a plan about the key?"

The genius nodded, "I'll be needing Point Break at this end to supply the energy."

Steve nodded, "Thor, you heard him, stay around the church until he needs you. The rest of us, spread out across the city and find any survivors. Then I want the ones who can't fly to get onto the ship and the ones who can to leave before this whole island collapses."

He looked at the key, and then his team, "Someone will need to guard the key until Tony and Thor can resolve the problem."

Wanda stepped forward, determination shining in her eyes, "I can do that." She said, the air around her thrumming with energy.

Percy, who was leaning against Loki, spoke up, "I'll stay here too, two's better than one anyway."

Steve nodded, ignoring Loki and Pietro's scowl and continued, "Pietro, I want you to do a quick sweep of the whole city and check for trapped survivors. If you think you can get them out on your own, by all means do so, if not call one of us for back up."

The Captain surveyed them with a stern look, "I want to see everyone at the end of this, alright? Ultron is almost beaten, and no one is going to be left behind. We're a team, and that means we get out of this together. Understood?"

Everyone nodded solemnly, while Loki snorted, causing all eyes to turn to him, "Speak for yourself Captain," the god smirked, twirling a dagger between his fingers, "I'm not part of your little team." He said, and vanished in a green light.

Percy sighed and rolled his eyes, "Excuse him, he has a flair for melodramatics." He said wryly.

Tony's grin went unnoticed behind his mask, "Well, that's Reindeer Games for you. Now, chop chop people, robots to kill, people to save, anyone feeling a little déjà vu?" he said, flying off to find the main body of the vibranium key.

The rest of the avengers took his cue and dispersed, though Pietro pulled his sister to the side for awhile, talking to her softly. Percy gave them their space, twirling his trident as he kept an eye on the key and another on any incoming robots. He tried not to look at the clouds on the horizon, pushing away any thought of the height he was at. He wasn't sure if Zeus would still carry out his threat to smite him if he got too close or too high in his domain, but the demigod wasn't about to test that out anytime soon. He looked back just as Pietro gave Wanda a mischievous smile and dashed off, leaving the two of them behind.

She nodded cautiously at him, still not speaking a word.

Percy smiled at her, asking, "Hey, I kinda didn't get your name earlier, I'm Percy Jackson."

Wanda stared at him, "I know," she replied shortly, "You introduced yourself to Ultron earlier." She paused for awhile, seeing his expectant look, then continued, "I'm Wanda."

Percy blinked and grinned, "Nice to meet you! So when did you join the Avengers?"

The scarlet clad girl frowned slightly, "I – we – Pietro and I – we weren't part of the Avengers until a few hours earlier."

Percy blinked, "Huh, what happened?"

Wanda looked away, the memories of her digging up the Avengers' darkest fears stirring up feelings of guilt within her, "I – we came to a realization."

Percy nodded, knowing that there was more to their story than this but didn't try to push too much, it was obvious that Wanda was more than a little emotionally vulnerable and Percy didn't want her to snap. "Hey," he began, "This is gonna sound weird but, did I do something to you? Or are you a naturally quiet person? Cause if you are then I'm sorry for asking such an awkward question and great, I'm rambling." He sighed.

Wanda stared at him, licking her lips slightly, "I – my powers allow me to read other people's minds, and – I can't read yours. Not at all. There is nothing that I can glean from you apart from traces of emotions, not even surface thoughts."

Percy cocked his head to one side, "Well, reading other people's minds without their consent isn't exactly an ethical thing to do." He said wryly, causing Wanda to flush, "I'm not saying that you shouldn't do it because I know that you can't escape surface thoughts, kinda like background noise I guess." He scratched the back of his head, "But well, don't try looking into my mind, it isn't pretty in there."

"I have seen the minds of the Avengers," Wanda offered, after several seconds of silence, "I have seen the darkness of the world through both their own eyes and my own."

Percy smiled bitterly, "Trust me, the monsters that live in my mind are something you've never seen before, and it's something _I_ don't even want to see again."

Wanda nodded, not taking offence to his words because she knew how a person's demons could affect their psyche. The two continued their silent sentinel, the air between them settling into something more comfortable.

The silence that hung in the church was cut by the arrival of several robots, the metallic beings flying into the church compound. Wanda let her powers flow, imagining their bodies twisted into heaps of scrap metal and watching as their real life counterpart did so. Percy grinned and leapt onto a robot, dragging it down to the ground and spearing it in the throat. He rolled away from a repulsor blast and slammed the spear end of the trident into its chest, slicing upwards and eviscerating it. The two of them worked in tandem, Wanda frying the bots that flew in while Percy took care of the ones who were on foot. He stuck to his weapon, choosing not to use his powers – his gut was telling him not to reveal all his cards yet.

They both fought alongside each other, numerous robots coming at them, but not like the swarm from before. Percy turned, finishing decapitating a robot and saw one launching itself at Wanda, who had her back turned to it. He called out a warning and threw his trident at it, spearing it through the head, throat and chest just as Wanda turned around to give her own dose of energy. She turned to him in thanks, but the gratitude on her face turned into horror.

Percy was already turning around when he noticed her expression, but a strong grip caught hold of his arm before he could reach for his sword, flinging him out of the compound. Percy gasped in pain as his back collided with several walls, dust and debris crumbling around him as he broke through them. He dropped to the ground, dazed, as a hard foot nudged him over onto his back.

The demigod tried to get up, but a heavy weight came down on his chest, knocking the air out of him. His arms came to grab the offending weight on his chest, trying to shift it off but to no avail. A low chuckle came from above him, and Percy snapped his eyes up, sea green meeting deep scarlet. Ultron crouched down, his leg still pinning Percy to the ground, the change in position adding even more weight to his chest. Percy gasped, feeling one of his ribs crack under the pressure. Still, he glared at the robot, grinning internally as he saw the scorch marks on the robot's chest. "Took you so long to get up from one tiny blast eh?" he hissed out.

Ultron snarled and grabbed a fistful of hair, pulling the teen's head up, "Insolent. I had planned for the extinction of the Avengers, but you – you will be the first to die."

Percy grinned sharply, barking a laugh, "Do you know how many people have said that to me? And do you know how many have succeeded?"

Ultron narrowed his eyes in response, curiosity sparking through him despite himself.

Percy smirked, using what little air he had left with Ultron's foot crushing his lungs, "One." Then he vanished.

The robot, who had been stepping on Percy, lost his balance as the solid structure beneath him suddenly vanished. Behind him, Wanda, who was frantically trying to get past the hoard of robots to help Percy, paused in shock at his sudden disappearance.

Ultron roared and stood up, drawing himself to his full height, his blasters charged and powered up. He turned around, just in time for Percy to reappear, his sword in his hands as he sliced a deep gash in Ultron's abdomen. He dodged the blast that the robot fired, rolling between his legs, coming up behind him. Ultron snarled and whirled around, firing his repulsors at the demigod again, though Percy just kept dodging them. He brought his silver sword up just in time to meet Ultron's transformed arm, their blades screeching against each other, a parody of David and Goliath's battle.

Percy bared his teeth at Ultron, whose metal face twisted into a semblance of a snarl. The hero twisted his sword and slid the flat edge of his blade across Ultron's arm-blade, scoring another gash in his chest plate. The robot snarled his displeasure, charging forward at Percy, who gave his own battle cry and attacked Ultron.

Wanda desperately tried to keep the robots at bay, while keeping an eye out for Percy, who was fighting – alone – against Ultron. She flung her blasts outwards, incinerating any robot which came near. She winced as Ultron backhanded Percy, sending the teen flying backwards. Percy did a backward roll and leapt to his feet, seemingly unbothered by the fact that he had just been thrown by an eight feet tall robot. Wanda couldn't hear what he said to Ultron, but the teen seemed to be goading the robot into a rage. Wanda didn't know if that was bravery or stupidity. She herself had felt intimidated by Ultron when she was on his side, let alone facing the robot's wrath when she wasn't, and here was a person who was actively trying to induce Ultron's anger.

Ultron's bellow of rage was audible even to her, and she turned, her heart leaping into her throat as the robot fired both repulsors on his palm at Percy. The telekinetic felt her jaw drop when Percy didn't even bother dodging. Instead, he stood his ground and lifted a hand up just as the blast connected. Wanda screamed, sure that she would see a burnt corpse on the ground. Even Ultron himself was smirking at Wanda, smug at the prospect of his victory. To both their surprise, the smoke cleared, revealing a crystalline shield that surrounded Percy in an arc, not a scratch or scorch mark on it.

Percy grinned up at Ultron's confused face, and moved. With a thought, the ice melted into water and he wrapped a liquefied limb across Ultron's chest throwing the robot backwards in revenge. The demigod grinned and called his element back to him – the one good thing about being so high up in the sky was that the city was surrounded by clouds, and everyone knew that clouds were made up of water. Percy felt his element all around him and summoned the water, becoming a literal hurricane that he was well known for. He manifested spears of ice which had Ultron's eyes widening just before they pierced his armor. As Ultron tried to fly off, a huge hand made up of water grabbed the robot and crushed him into the ground. The robot snarled and fired his repulsors, but the water just sizzled and reformed, the liquid crushing the robot as per Percy's will. The demigod smelled the distinct smell of ozone and he grinned ferociously at Ultron before releasing the robot, dousing him with a good load of water before pinning him down with a huge fist of water.

Seconds later, Thor's roar accompanied the loud crackle of lightning as it struck down on Ultron, the robot screaming as hundreds of volts of energy coursed through the water and into his system. The thunder god landed beside Percy, giving him a one over before the demigod elbowed the god in the side, scowling slightly. "Dude, I'm fine."

Thor chuckled, "It is good to see you again Perseus."

Percy sighed at his full name, "I thought I said not to call me that." He muttered, releasing Ultron with a flick of his wrist. The robot flopped to the ground, smoke rising up from his body. Screams of anger arose from the multitude of robots around them – parts of Ultron's self. Thor clapped a hand on Percy's shoulder, "Leave, now."

Percy nodded, gesturing for Wanda to follow him, which the girl did after a cursory glance at Thor. The two of them ran towards the last shuttle which was ferrying people to the Helicarrier, Wanda leading the way as she knew where the shuttle was. The two of them destroyed any robot which came into their path, heading straight for the shuttle. They kept an eye out for any survivors, but between Wanda's telepathy and Percy's powers, they found no survivors. When they were almost at the shuttle, a blue and white blur stopped right in front of them. Wanda smiled slightly, while Percy – who had pointed his trident at the figure – let out a breath and lowered down his weapon. The hero scowled, "Don't do that." He snapped, "I could've skewered you, and I don't think Wanda would have appreciated that."

Pietro chuckled, "Did you find any survivors?" he asked, looking at his sister. Wanda shook her head, her eyes darkening slightly.

Percy sighed, "That just means that everyone's off this floating island." He grimaced, "Floating island, never thought I'd say that." He turned to the siblings, "Come on, we better get on, I'm not sure how long more Tony and Thor are going to take to do whatever it is they're –" he broke off, his eyes growing wide, "Clint!"

Several things happened at once.

The two siblings whirled around, spying the archer at the base of a crumbling building, cradling a child, several hundred meters away from them. Overhead, the Quinjet's engines thrummed, the sound of mechanical rounds being fired filling their ears. Pietro dashed off in a blur towards Hawkeye, Wanda screaming his name as Percy tackled her to the ground.

" _Pietro!"_

The bullets smashed into the dirt.

Overhead, an eagle cried out.

Pietro had always loved to run. Since he was a child, his feet could never stay still, and he yearned to run as far as the road lay before him, as far as the wind took him. The Maximoffs were not poor, but neither were they rich. What they had, they treasured, even if it was something that others would feel to be worthless. Pietro still remembered the first pair of sport shoes which his father had bought for him. His father had worked hard for many months, saving up bit by bit in order to buy him that pair of shoes. He remembered being so happy and trying it on, running and sprinting, feeling as though he could run forever.

When their parents got pulled down into that hole, Pietro knew that he couldn't run anymore. He forced himself to stay put for Wanda, to resist the urge to take off and run until he couldn't breathe. He pulled himself together and ruthlessly squashed down the tiny voice that told him to leave everything behind and just _run_ , because _no_ , he would _not_ leave Wanda behind, not when they were all that the two of them had. When they volunteered for the experiment, Pietro had never thought that he would gain the ability to fulfill his dream – to run so fast that others could not keep up with him. He was filled with hate by the time he stepped out of the cell – hate for Tony Stark, for the Avengers, for the people who took his parents away.

He remembered the first Avenger he saw – a man dressed in a full black outfit with only a bow and arrow as a weapon. He had scoffed at the man's choice at first – what was a bow and arrow good for against something that could travel so much faster than bullets even? He had scoffed, but he had underestimated his opponent. Yes, the guns got the archer in the end, but not before Pietro had realized that the side of his shirt was torn by an arrow.

Now, here he was, running to save lives instead of taking them. He wondered vaguely if his parents would be proud that their children were doing something noble. Pietro hissed, casting his mind back to his sister, as much as he hated to leave her behind, he knew that she would be in good hands with the kid. All these crossed his mind within the three seconds that he took to reach Hawkeye and the kid. He grabbed the two of them and shoved them aside, closing his eyes to brace himself against the pain.

It never came.

Pietro opened his eyes, electric blue meeting Hakweye's almond ones. The white haired speedster straightened out from his crouched position in shock, looking around. He heard Hawkeye's snort and turned back to face him. The archer subtly covered the kid's ears and glared upwards, "Son of a bitch." He cursed.

Pietro followed his gaze, seeing the other man who had appeared with Percy before Ultron. Said man grinned sharply, "Now, now Barton, are those words that a child should be hearing?"

Clint scowled, his hands twitching from where they were holding on to the kid's shoulders, "Believe me, if it wasn't for the kid, I'd be saying a lot more."

Pietro blinked confusedly, his eyes widening as he remembered his sister, "Wanda – !"

The green eyed man slid his eyes to him, "Your sister is safe, I would not think that any harm would befall her while Perseus is around."

Pietro nodded mutely, looking past the dust to see that yes, in fact, Percy had shielded her from the hail of bullets, a sheet of – was that ice? – surrounding them both.

On his side, the green eyed man waved his hand, a shimmering barrier that was around them appearing for a few seconds before it disappeared.

"Thanks." Clint said, begrudgingly, after a short pause where they watched as the Hulk jump into the quinjet, a body thrown out of it shortly after the green beast disappeared into the jet.

The man commented wryly, "It is good to be on the other side of that situation for once." and inclined his head at Clint, "Your thanks is accepted, now get lost, my brother is about to destroy this island." Then he vanished, appearing by Percy and Wanda's side before vanishing with the both of them. Pietro looked at Clint and grabbed onto the archer's shoulder, sprinting them to the shuttle. He deposited the archer and the child, then ran back out to grab Captain America who had been running towards the shuttle, the two of them making it safely on board the evacuation vehicle.

Shortly after the shuttle detached from the floating island did a huge bolt of lightning descend from the sky into the heart of the city. The resulting shockwave as the island exploded rattled their shuttle, but they were all intact. Pietro caught the Captain's concerned glance and nodded slightly, watching as the Captain did the same to Hawkeye, making sure that his team mates were fine.

As soon as the shuttle landed, Pietro was off, searching for his sister who he found next to Percy, away from the crowd of civilians who were anxiously waiting for the rest of the survivors – their family – to arrive on board the Helicarrier. Percy gave him a small smile as he appeared, dragging his sister into a deep embrace.

The demigod gave the siblings space and went off in search of Loki. He avoided the SHIELD personnel and the civilians, climbing to the highest point of the ship that was devoid of people. The god didn't look at him as he climbed up beside him, sitting next to him with their elbows lightly touching.

Below them, the Avengers found each other, Iron Man and Thor landing on the Helicarrier looking a little worse for wear, but neither were severely injured. Black Widow found Hawkeye and Captain America, meeting their two fliers near the edge of the ship. A little a ways from them, the twins stood together, comforting each other as they had done for so long.

Down on the ground, in the middle of the forest, Vision landed silently, his cape fluttering behind him. He cocked his head to one side as he appraised the battered form of Ultron's last robotic self.

Once they had all settled down, Fury had given them – including Percy and Loki, and it was to the man's credit that he didn't even bat an eyelid at their sudden appearance – a whole cordoned off area for them to crash in. with the limited SHIELD personnel on board the ship, there was lots of room for everyone to sleep in. As tired as they were, they were all too keyed up with tension and adrenaline to even think about sleeping.

Which meant that they were all sitting around in one room staring at each other.

"You know what I think?" Tony said, breaking the silence, his face plate lifted up as he ate a banana.

Steve sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face tiredly, "Do we have a choice?"

Tony grinned, pointing his banana at Steve, "Nope," he said, popping the 'p'. "I'm thinking we should have a party."

All of them stared at him.

"What?" he asked defensively, "We just saved the world. Again. We should have a party, it's our tradition isn't it?"

"We did have a party, but it was ruined by you and your creation." Natasha said flatly.

Tony scowled, "Come on, its not like I meant for Ultron to go crazy now did I? He was meant to protect earth!"

"Whoa wait up a sec," Percy cut in, leaning forward, "You're telling me that _you_ created _Ultron_? Not some crazy supervillain? _You_?"

Tony rolled his eyes exasperatedly, "Yes for goodness' sake, I created Utron. And no, I didn't program him to wipe out humanity."

"No, you just let him have access to the Internet and decide that humans were the obstacle he needed to overcome to attain world peace." Clint cut in, smirking lazily.

Loki snorted, "Pathetic, you cannot even get your own creation right."

"Hey Reindeer Games, do me a favor and remember who gave you the drink you wanted?"

Loki smirked, "Oh I remember alright, I just choose to remind you of your deficient mortal tendencies."

"Nonetheless, whatever your intentions were Tony, you should have thought to ask either me or my brother for help. The Mind Gem is not to be trifled with." Thor said, his eyes boring into Tony's.

The genius threw up his hands, "What is this? Pick on Tony day? Come on, Rudolph here wasn't even on Earth, how was I supposed to ask him? And you big guy, can you honestly tell me that you would have told me anything I wanted to know about the gem?"

"And that is my point, Tony, we were gone for two days. _Two. Days_. And you managed to create a robot who wanted to destroy humanity." Percy cried out, whacking the genius on the head.

Thor looked slightly sheepish at Tony's words, but Steve picked up the conversation, "That's it Tony, it doesn't matter if Thor wasn't going to tell you everything. We're a team, you should have told us about the Ultron programme in the first place!"

Tony sighed, grumbling under his breath, "Fine, if I have any other plans for world domination, I'll tell you guys. Alright?"

A chorus of assent echoed around the room before it fell silent once more. Then –

"You would not be able to concoct a successful plan for world domination anyway."

"Like you're one to talk Mr-I-failed-to-conquer-New-York."

They did in fact have a party, after SHIELD had initiated Pietro and Wanda Maximoff as Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch into the Avengers Initiative, along with Falcon and War Machine. The party was held in Stark's tower – or rather, the Avengers' Tower – again, with the addition of Percy and Loki, the two of them deciding to wait until the party was over to leave.

The god had escaped the crowd and was enjoying the view outside the floor-to-ceiling window, sensing rather than seeing his brother come up beside him. "Thank you brother." The elder god rumbled.

Loki tilted his head, "What for?"

"For aiding us in battle." Thor replied, "I have missed fighting alongside you."

Loki smirked, "Even if I means there is a chance that I might take your head off?"

Thor mock sighed exasperatedly, "It is a risk I must take." He said magnanimously.

Loki snorted, lifting his pilfered wine glass to his lips, "Go mingle with the incessant mortals Thor, I am sure that they delight in your godly presence."

Thor laughed and clapped his brother on the back, turning to head back down into the party.

Of all the people that Pietro could have mingled with, he had no idea why he found himself next to one Clint Barton. The archer had just smirked at him as he came closer and offered the speedster a drink. The newly initiated Avenger took it and threw it back in one shot, grimacing at the burning sensation in his throat.

"So," Clint said conversationally, pouring another glass of liquor for the speedster, "How was the initiation?"

Pietro frowned, "Boring." He said, "Lots of paperwork. You told me that it was more exciting."

Clint smirked, "Did I now?" he shrugged carelessly, "Well, our initiation was pretty fun."

"I would think that few would consider a hostile invasion as fun Barton." A smooth voice cut through their conversation.

Clint sighed, glaring at the smirking god, "I still don't like you, and there's an arrow with your name on it."

Loki grinned and moved away, disappearing into the crowd as easily as he appeared.

Pietro blinked and turned to the archer, "I've been meaning to ask, who is that and who is Percy Jackson?"

Clint tilted his head, "That, was Loki, god of mischief, trickery and lies and also Thor's brother." Seeing the blank and incredulous look on the speedster's face, he cleared his throat, "He's also the one who led the alien invasion a few years ago."

Quicksilver's jaw dropped.

Clint laughed, pointing to Percy with his glass, "Him, on the other hand. He's a SHIELD agent."

"He's not an Avenger?"

Clint shook his head, "No, we've each worked with him since New York, but he's not part of the Avengers. Doesn't want to be one either I think."

Pietro mulled over that, "Why not? I thought everyone wanted to be an Avenger?"

Clint laughed again, "This ain't some exclusive elite-only club kid, besides, you gotta ask him why yourself, maybe he'll tell you, maybe he won't."

Pietro nodded and turned back to look at the party goers, "My sister seems to have taken a liking to him." He said after a while.

Clint choked on his drink.

"Wait, what?"

Pietro nodded to where his sister was, chatting away amicably with Percy. Clint, on the other hand, had his eyes somewhere else – he now knew why Loki had come down.

"Uh," Clint began, turning to Pietro, "You might wanna tell your sister to back off from Perce."

Pietro frowned, "Why?"

Clint pointed at Loki who was slowly making his way to the two, "As much as I think that your sister is powerful, and as much as I hate to compliment that bastard, I really don't think that your sister can stand up to _him_."

Pietro took several seconds to process what Clint had just told him, then his eyes widened in shock, "Wait, you're telling me that they're together?" he whisper-shouted.

Clint raised an eyebrow at him, "You didn't see _that_ coming?"

* * *

 **Aaaaand that's a wrap! So, I'm assuming that since you read all the way to the end, you've either watched AoU or you don't mind spoilers. That being said, this particular story kept nagging at me all through my finals and so once finals were done I vomited this out as fast as I could.**

 **That being said, I really needed this because I couldn't stand the ending of AoU, although I heard that there's gonna be an alternate ending in the DVD, which I sincerely hope and pray that it is an ending which fixes Quicksilver's death, because honestly DAMN IT JOSS WHEDON IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE FOR YOU TO CREATE A CHARACTER WHICH IS SO LIKEABLE AND THEN KILL HIM OFF BY THE END.**

 **So because of my need to fix Pietro's unnecessary death and to fix my need for Loki in the movie - because there was a rumor that Loki would have a cameo in AoU but HE DID NOT - I wrote this.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed it, but please leave a review on your way out! :)**


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